Fighting Radicalization by Fostering Gender Inclusion . being applied by women in the national security sectors is still marginal , increasing their participation in the Alliance by 3 % in the first 3 years following the legal adoption and implementation of UNSCR 1325 . Therefore , it has become more urgent than ever to increase these records and to strengthen their visibility in the sector .
At the 2014 Wales Summit , Allied leaders had already acknowledged that the integration of gender perspectives throughout NATO ’ s three essential core tasks ( i . e . collective defence , crisis management and cooperative security ) will contribute to a more modern , ready and responsive NATO . A new action plan for 2015-2018 is currently being developed reaffirming the centrality of gender perspective implementation . It sought to promote gender diversity goals by taking action to identify and remove barriers to women within NATO ’ s policies and programs ; to attract and retain women , especially in senior leadership positions ; and to create policies and services that meet the needs of women working as NATO civilian staff . To that aim , the Alliance follows a double strategy :
1 ) The first strategy is intended to have an external impact , on the image and the message that the organization wants to project . By giving visibility to the functionally , ethnically and gender balanced professionals , they serve as a role model for the society , and promote the involvement and the empowerment of the different groups in the peace process . In that sense , the Alliance is working on adopting a balanced image of the organization while fostering its own values . In the words of Chantal de Jonge Oudraat , President of Women In International Security ( WIIS ), “ gender balance is ( used as ) an extremely powerful counter-message about the kind of society that we want to live in ”. In this respect , LANDCOM current target is to increase the female personnel for crucial training events in 2017 thus showing a resolute commitment to gender balance within the HQ .
2 ) The second strategy would be adopting a gender-perspective to the analysis that will shape the effectiveness of the security policies against extremism and supporting the resolution of a conflict . For instance , in counter-terrorism such analysis will include the female members of violent organizations with an effective contribution as well as all actors perpetuating or favoring the development of violent consequences of any ideology . Supporters or disseminators of the violent ideology may implicate also Women to perform an active role in conflict environments , even if they are still considered the most vulnerable group to extremism , manipulation and any kind of abuse . Therefore , the landscape of threats will convey a brand new and gender diverse profile of combatants to fight with more adequate counter measures . As Ms . de Joonge explains , the growing radicalization has resulted into the increasing of the number of women being recruited by violent and extremist groups , which makes gender analysis a relevant tool in order to have a more describing evaluation . In this respect , one of the corner stones of conflict resolution would be the inclusion of women as part of the same nation that needs to be re-built , entering into the public sphere with a responsive contribution .
As a plan to address , when major actors involved will apply an inclusive gender perspective , more vulnerable groups would have the chance to perform an active role in conflict resolution .
Considering any circumstance of fragile environment , post crises state building and the implementation of security sector reforms ( security , development and rule of law etc .), vulnerable groups who are usually part of the conflict scenario as victims of sexual abuse or economic inequality , should participate in the recovery of their communities as full responsive members , in order to attain a comprehensive peace process .
In this respect the role of Gender Advisors and female soldiers in the NATO headquarters and in fields like Kosovo or Afghanistan , is to support the gender perspective to these effects .
Picture by SFC Ruiz , LANDCOM PAO
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